Vending machine secrets: find the temperature of your drink

Ever felt that the temperature of a drink from a vending machine wasn’t cold or hot? In summer, often, when you buy a bottle, it’s either at room temperature or in winter, a hot drink is lukewarm.

This usually happens when the inventory has just been restocked and the beverage has not reached its ideal set temperature.

Not many Japanese know this, but you can check the temperature of a drink before purchase. Of course, not all vending machine models have this functionality but most do! The method is actually very simple. First press the button of “Change or refund money” (check for these characters おつり・回却).

Then select the item you want to buy,

the temperature of your chosen drink will be displayed on the small screen that shows the price.

Some models do not have the symbol °C but will just display a number. Usually, this also indicates the temperature.

If you are fussy about the temperature of your drinks, then you should try this out! You will most likely find this function on most Suntory and Asahi machines. Since it doesn’t take time, you can try it when you buy a drink next time!